In Elgin head coach Heath Clawson’s office, a purple and white football sits on a shelf along one of the side walls. The football commemorates Elgin’s 29-20 win over Lampasas on Aug. 26, 2022, Clawson’s first win as the Elgin head coach.
However, the football stands for much more than just one victory. It was the culmination of 15 months of hard work, and a representation of the foundation that Clawson and his players have built at Elgin.
A special thank you to Chuck Claxton for the gift after our 1st win here at Elgin. Thank you to @coach_ferg25 & @MrsFergusonMath for coming with me to build something special here. To the coaches,admin,parents,& players,a lot of work has gone in for this. Many more to come…#UTD pic.twitter.com/wHm5vP7wDq
— Coach Clawson (@HeathClawson) October 9, 2022
Elgin is a small town (pop. 9,784) located about 30 minutes east of Austin on U.S. 290.
The Elgin offensive line gets in some reps at an early morning practice. Clawson said that unit has been one of the foundations of Elgin’s turnaround.
When Clawson first took over at the school in May 2021, he immediately realized he faced an uphill battle. Restrictions from the COVID pandemic had hampered the development of many of his players who couldn’t lift or workout in person.
And as Clawson worked to get his players back up to speed last year, the Wildcats found little success on the field. They finished 0-10 on the season with their opponents outscoring them 87-410.
Senior receiver and free safety Justin Strong shuddered at the memory of last year.
“It felt pretty terrible.” Strong said.
Senior tackle Jackie Williams agreed.
“It was tough,” Williams said. “Just having an 0-8 record [at this point last year], everybody just wants the season to be over with.”
But despite a tough season, Clawson was still full of hope for what the program could become.
Clawson runs a read option drill with his quarterbacks and running backs ahead of Elgin’s game on Thursday against Pflugerville.
“[Elgin] had been down a little bit, but I always knew they had talent,” Clawson said. “I saw great kids that were hungry to put things together and get them moving forward.”
Flash forward a year and that hope has turned into reality. Elgin is 6-2 on the season and is on the verge of clinching its first playoff berth since 2014.
The Wildcats are 3-1 in District 11-5A Division II play, and, as things stand, only a couple of five-way or three-way tiebreaker scenarios could deny them a playoff spot. However, a win this Thursday against Pflugerville would cure all and secure the Wildcats at least a third-placed finish in the district.
Williams said that from the moment the Wildcats offseason program began this past spring, Clawson set the goal of making the playoffs in front of his team. And despite some mild skepticism at first, his players quickly bought in.
“At first, we were kind of like, ‘Yeah, we’re not going,’” Williams said. “But then, we just started putting in work and we started seeing [results] on the field. We came together and believed in ourselves.”
Elgin’s #UTD motto is displayed prominently on the doors of its weight room.
As the team gradually began to improve on the field, Clawson was hard at work instilling a culture of unity, toughness, and discipline off of it. The Elgin program is built on the motto #UTD. Those three letters are plastered on the doors of the Elgin weight room as a reminder to the players every time they walk in.
And after 15 months of hard work building a foundation for the program under Clawson, the Wildcats soon began to see their efforts pay off on the field.
After the season-opening win over Lampasas, Elgin’s first victory since November 20, 2020, wins against Akins and Cedar Creek followed as the Wildcats finished non-district play 3-1.
They kept rolling into district play as well, winning two of their first three district games. That set up a massive clash against Waco University last Friday, Oct. 14.
Heading into the game, Elgin knew a win would be a huge step towards sealing its first playoff trip in eight years.
The Wildcats led 21-7 at halftime, but University came roaring back and took a 35-28 lead late in the fourth quarter.
Strong, who plays both ways for the Wildcats, was determined not to let the defense be the reason the Wildcats failed to win.
“Our defense and me, we weren’t really having our best time that game; we were letting them score,” Strong said. “In those closing moments, I was like, ‘I haven’t been doing my job that much on defense, so I have to make it up on offense.’”
Strong delivered on his word as Wildcat quarterback Nathen Lewis found him behind the defense for a 29-yard touchdown with just 33 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 35-34.
Super Proud of these Elgin Wildcats! They clinched a playoff spot tonight with a 36-35 come back win. Here is our comeback drive score pass from Nate (@Nathenlewis06) to Justin (@JustinStrong05). Sebastian (@SebastianJacksn) followed it up with the 2 point conversion for the lead pic.twitter.com/PBSGouXSF4
— Kim Strong (@KimStrong97) October 15, 2022
As soon as Strong scored, Clawson immediately knew he was going to have his team go for a two-point conversion. The only question would be what play to call.
And after seeing his players buy in to everything he had said over the previous 17 months, Clawson decided to trust their judgment with the game on the line.
“They said, ‘let’s run it,” Clawson said. “And I kept trying to say, ‘I think we need to give an option where we could throw it or run it’, and they said, ‘Trust us, Coach.’ So like they’d trusted me, I said, ‘All right, I trust you.’ And so, I put it on their backs, and they got it done.”
Behind his offensive line, Wildcat running back Sebastian Jackson barreled into the end zone for the conversion, sealing a memorable 36-35 victory that has Elgin so close to its first playoff berth in eight years, the Wildcats can taste it.
And with this 2 pt conversion, Elgin takes the lead with 2 seconds left (forgot I was recording and got excited) #etx #highschoolfootball pic.twitter.com/Mse45tG9Ih
— Crissye Watson Johns (@crissyej) October 15, 2022
And as Elgin embarks on their final couple games of the season with a chance to take the program further than it has been in nearly a decade, senior center Blaine Mueller said there’s no one else he’d rather go to battle with.
“It’s really just like a big family,” Mueller said. “All the guys here, it’s been such a turnaround from last season. It’s really given us a chance to bond.”
For Clawson, he’s incredibly grateful for how his players bought into his message from the very moment he arrived.
“They mean a lot to me,” Clawson said. “They could’ve easily said when I came in here, ‘Who’s this guy?’ But the fact that they trusted me, I love them.”
And after seeing his players go through a winless season a year ago, Clawson is elated that their efforts have been recognized in the win column this season.
“I’m just so proud of them,” Clawson said. “I thank the Good Lord that he’s given them the reward for trusting and going through that hard work.”
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